Introducing
the SI Pro v2.516-bit
series
Plugin.Taking
image interpolation to the next level

The
new SI Pro v2.5 plugin, now compatible
with Photoshop CS3 and Windows Vista, gives
photographers
access to powerful and flexible
options
for customizing their own image interpolation
outputs. It is the result of many months
of development and based
on the feedback we received from many professional
photographers looking for the highest quality
print output. The SI Pro v2.5 plugin is the
next generation interpolation tool and replaces
the popular SI Pro plugin. This new essential
digital darkroom tool features improved
algorithms, added options to choose from
pre-set and custom paper sizes, pixel dimension,
margins, printer resolution and even interpolates
your images by scale. A powerful downsampling
option was also added to SI Pro v2.5 making
this plugin ideal for your interpolation
and downsampling workflow.

The
main concept of this professional plugin
is to offer one solution for all digital
files, including scanned film. It works
with both English and Metric unit systems,
therefore encompassing any printing media
available.
Fine, Normal and Coarse SI Interpolation intensities as well as optional smart
sharpening can also be added to your desired interpolation method. For your
high ISO files, the new SI Pro v2.5 offers the option of removing color noise
while preserving pixel information intact.

When
clicking on 'SI Pro v2.5', the plugin interface
will launch.PC
version shown below:

SI Pro v2.5 plug-in interface

Settings:SI Pro v2.5 allows photographers to save and
load their own custom settings. You will
be able to create as many SI Pro v2.5 settings
(profiles) as desired to ease your workflow.
In the example below, you can see that
I have saved settings for different projects:

How
to save custom SI Pro v2.5 settings:In the example above, SI Pro v2.5 was set with
the following options:

In order
to save these settings for future use,
I clicked on the "Save" button
and created a custom setting called: "Wedding
07-12-05". If you would like to back-up
your custom settings, you can find them
using the following path. Every setting
you create will be added to this path automatically.

Interpolation
Intensities and sharpening levels(Works
with any of the above SI interpolation
methods)

The
default sharpening setting for SI Pro v2.5
is 'No sharpening'. However, you can add
special formulated sharpening to your images
during SI interpolation. Two sharpening
option are available: Low and High sharpening.

There
are three (3) built-in Stair Interpolation
intensity options. The intensity 'Normal
SI' is the recommended default setting.
It will run faster and provide excellent
results. For even finer Interpolation,
use the 'Fine' option. SI Interpolation
using the Fine option may take a longer
time to complete and it's not recommended
for slower systems. I also advise not using
'Fine SI' with any sharpening option. The
Coarse setting will provide the fastest
performance and great image quality. (It's
a good compromise in regards to speed and
image quality.)

Original
Size window:The
Original Size field shows your
original file setting, which
is an important reference before
running SI Pro v2.5. Example:

Pixel
Dimensions: 3500 X 2595 Pixels
(Original Width X Height)

Document
Size: 11.67 X 8.65 Inches (Original
Width X Height)

Resolution: 300
Pixels/Inch (PPI)

Units: This
drop-down box will let you change the entire
SI Pro v2.5 Unit from English to Metric. All
entered settings will be converted automatically.

This
is the most powerful SI Pro v2.5 interpolation
method offered. You will be able to enter
the exact document size for printing output.
In this example, with an input of 26.97
inches width, the image height was automatically
calculated based on the image aspect ratio. Note:
Most digital SLR cameras support the 3:2
aspect ratio. The aspect ratio 4:3 is usually
supported by consumer digital cameras.

In
the above example, I chose a 3:2 aspect
ratio digital file on a 30 X 20 inch media.
As you can see, 26.97 inches will be added
to the width in order to support this aspect
ration. In order to fill out the entire
paper, cropping your image before running
SI Pro v2.5 may be needed.

Next,
I entered 300 Pixels/Inch (PPI) resolution.
This is the output resolution and varies
depending on your printing output device.
Finally, I added a 0.25 inch margin. (This
is a great time saver if you don't have
a borderless printer.)

With
SI Pro v2.5, you can choose from your own
custom sizes or select from a list of popular
pre-set media outputs. They are:

Set
image size

If
you already know your desired output dimension
size in 'pixels', then method 2, 'Set image
size' may be used. In the above example,
I added 6500 pixels width. The height of
4819 pixels was calculated automatically
based on the original image aspect ratio.

Increase
image by Percentage (%)

What
is the difference between Custom Resize
Pro series of plugins and the new SI Pro v2.5 plugin?

Each
plugin has an entirely different technique
and approach to image interpolation. The
SI Pro v2.5 plugin uses a unique and now improved
stair interpolation method and therefore
works with any digital file including cropped,
already interpolated images, or scanned
film. On the other hand, the Resize pro
plugins will only work optimally with the
camera file it was designed for. It increases
image size based on pixel contrast and
therefore needs the original camera file,
free of sharpening (Including in-camera)
to achieve superior results. So, if you
have more than one digital camera, shoot
film, severely crop images, or sharpen
before interpolation, then the SI Pro v2.5
plugin is the best tool for you. (Keep
in mind that any interpolation method works
best with unsharpenened files)

___________________

Everyone
involved with digital imaging has heard
about
Genuine Fractals. This utility claimed to
do a better job interpolating digital images
than Photoshop's bicubic engine. SI Pro v2.5 uses a different approach to Fractals,
which allows
interpolated files to maintain a high level
of detail while keeping your photograph's
natural look. (Without the creation of
fractal artifacts) - It's also only a fraction
of the price. :-)

Using
the Stair Interpolation
Pro 2 Plugin, will make your interpolated
images appear sharper,
therefore producing beautiful
prints. After running the plugin, SI Pro v2.5
images are superior to Genuine Fractal's
and much better than just using Photoshop
Bicubic (Or Bicubic Smoother) alone.

Here
are a few cropped samples:Note:
Image increase by percentage is only one of many
SI Interpolation methods provided by this plugin.